RALEIGH, N.C. (October 25, 2004) – Robert W. Spearman, a partner in the law firm of Parker, Poe, Adams and Bernstein LLP, has been named special honoree in the North Carolina Justice Center’s 6th Annual Defenders of Justice Awards.

Spearman and other honorees were recognized at the center’s annual awards banquet Oct. 21 at the Exploris Museum.
In presenting the award, the center cited Spearman’s decadelong battle on behalf of low-wealth school districts to force the State of North Carolina to fulfill its constitutional obligation to provide a sound basic education for all N.C. schoolchildren.
The so-called Leandro litigation (Hoke County et. al. v. State of North Carolina and the State Board of Education) confirmed the state’s constitutional duty in a landmark 1997 ruling. The right of children to a sound basic education was reaffirmed by the N.C. Supreme Court in a decision last July.

Superior Court Judge Howard Manning Jr. had scheduled a hearing for today on the state’s plan to remedy deficiencies in the current school funding system.

Spearman, who received the Razor Walker award in 2002 for his legal efforts to promote the welfare of N.C. children, is based in the Raleigh office of Parker Poe.